Jasper County charter school gets approval

Last week Ridgeland-based Royal Live Oaks Academy of the Arts & Sciences was approved by the S.C. Charter School District Board. The unanimous vote came weeks after the state department’s charter school committee reviewed the charter school’s application and found it in compliance with charter law.

Royal Live Oaks plans to begin classes in August 2012.

“We are just elated,” said Karen Wicks, who, along with husband Les Wicks, is one of the founders.

The Wickses and the rest of the charter school’s committee members celebrated together last week and already bricks have been ordered that will border the school’s entrance. Les Wicks said donors will have their names sandblasted into the bricks.

S.C. Public Charter School District Superintendent Dr. Wayne Brazell said the committee’s presentation was impressive.

“It was very thorough and the key thing was they could demonstrate how they were going above and beyond traditionally to meet the needs of the students,” he said.

Brazell cited the committee’s plan for longer school days, Saturday classes and “working with at-risk students, making sure they didn’t get behind.”

The facility is still in question.

Recently Les Wicks said a 50,000-square-foot facility would be built and the committee had received a $77,000 donation from a “property owner” to be put toward the land.

But at the urging of the state department of education to be cost conscious, the Wickses approached Jasper County School District Superintendent Vashti Washington about leasing the district’s elementary and middle school facilities on Bees Creek Road. A few months ago the district’s school board voted to turn down the offer to sell the property to Royal Live Oaks.

According to Karen Wicks, Washington said she wants to have a good relationship with the charter school and would consider a lease.

“She made no assurances,” Karen Wicks said.

Washington invited the Wickses to attend Monday’s school board meeting as a guest.

“We are working toward the betterment of the students,” Karen Wicks said.

Les Wicks said leasing the Bees Creek facilities would cost about $150,000 the first year and increase each year as student enrollment increased.

Royal Live Oaks would spend about $1.5 million to refurbish the facility. If Royal Live Oaks does secure a lease and eventually moves to another facility, Les Wicks said the donors’ bricks would be removed and brought to the new facility.

Royal Live Oaks has until March 2012 to formally identify a facility. If it doesn’t, the school will be delayed a year.

The school will begin interviewing for teachers and other positions in January and hopes to begin enrollment next spring. The Wickses say they’ve received more than 400 inquiries and plan to open with 396 students, which means there will be a public lottery.

The plan is to follow the Wickses EdVISTA Cares program of differentiated education, which has children learn by finding their strengths and weaknesses and developing their critical-thinking skills.

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